The Effects of Alcohol
by x Shut Up And S m i l e
Summary: Lily Evans has a good life. She's Head Girl, top of her class, dating the cutest Ravenclaw Hogwarts has ever seen, and has a strictly platonic relationship with the Head Boy, James Potter. But what happens when she wakes up on the morning of November 18th in James' arms with no memory of the previous night?
1. Prologue

**Summary: Lily Evans has a good life. She's Head Girl, top of her class, dating the cutest Ravenclaw Hogwarts has ever seen, and has a ****_strictly _****platonic relationship with the Head Boy, James Potter. But what happens when she wakes up on the morning of November 18****th**** in James' arms with no memory of the previous night?  
**

**Disclaimer: Basically everything belongs to JK Rowling. **

**Prologue**

When Lily Evans woke up on November 18th, she felt four things.

The first thing she felt was very warm. Not a bad, 'ugh-get-me-out-of-this-heat' type of warmth, but a soft, comfortable kind. Like a lover's embrace.

The second thing she felt was very different than the warmth, though, since it was the worst headache she'd ever had. It felt like a Cornish Pixie had crawled through her ear and was using her brain as a drum set.

The third thing she felt was confusion, because _why did her nightstand look different?_ She had never in her life purchased a copy of _Quidditch Monthly_, nor had she ever left the November Issue on the table. And why did her alarm clock look so… masculine? She didn't even know that alarm clocks _could _look masculine. And where was her favorite bottle of perfume?

The fourth thing was a pair of lean, muscular arms encircling her waist. There was also the feeling that she was only wearing her favorite matching underwear set, midnight blue and lacy. And nothing else.

Lily stiffened.

It was Liam.

It _had _to be Liam.

Trying not to move, she turned her head as far to the left as she could.

Horribly messy black hair, tall and lean body, and Merlin help her, was that a pair of glasses?

_She was spooning James Potter!_

* * *

**AN: Hello my lovelies! I have returned! And this time without the flaky updates, since *gasp* this story is completely finished! Hurrah!  
18000 words in total, be prepared. Since the chapters are short, I'll put em out every few days. The first chapter will be up tomorrow night or Sunday. (:  
**

**I've missed you all, and I hope you like the story! It was fun to write. (;**

**Beta'd by Stefanie at Biggerandbeta on tumblr! :D **


	2. Chapter One

**The Morning Before**

"_Happy birthday tooo yooouuu!_"

The table applauded and Sirius emotionally wiped a fake tear from his eye. The Seventh Year Gryffindors (the Marauders, along with Lily and her three roommates: Marlene McKinnon, Harley Pensky, and Zoe Simmons) had prepared a breakfast surprise that morning. They had convinced the House Elves to make a three-tiered chocolate cake with strawberry frosting. The Marauders took a trip down to Hogsmeade and bought decorations. All the while the girls worked overnight to make Sirius a golden plastic crown that wouldn't come off his head for twelve hours (a fact that he was not made aware of until _after_ he placed it on his head.)

"Thank you, thank you," Sirius said once everyone at the table had stopped singing.

"Don't get too touched, I only sang so I could get a slice of the cake."

"Bite me, Potter."

"Play nicely, boys," Lily interrupted as James opened his mouth to give a reply. "And cut the cake already, we're starving over here."

"Aye, captain."

"No sass, Potter, or you'll be thrown overboard."

He smiled at her and she grinned back. She almost didn't notice that Zoe was speaking now.

"So what are we doing tonight, Sirius?" her black-haired friend asked, taking a large bite of her slice of cake.

"Throwing a wild, drunken Common Room party."

"We have classes tomorrow," Lily pointed out.

"I see no relevant problem."

"We can't have alcohol."

"Li-_ly_-"

"No."

"Fine."

"Thank you."

"Then the party will be moved to Friday night!" He exclaimed dramatically, raising his fork in defiance.

"_Sirius!_"

"Kidding!" he said quickly, raising his palms innocently in response to Lily's stern gaze.

"But there _will_ be a party," James assured the table.

"More or less than the average Post-Quidditch Match Victory party?" Marlene asked.

"More."

"But less than The Christmas Party of '76?" Harley spoke up with a wicked grin that always seemed to accompany mentioning of that particular event.

"_Yes_," Lily cut in before James could answer.

"Think Fabian-Prewett's-Last-Day-Of-Exams-Slash-Summer-Bash," James clarified.

"Ahh, all right."

"That was a good party."

"Good. We're agreed?" The table nodded in consent.

"Why _isn't _the party tomorrow, though?" Marlene asked. "We would be able to stay up a lot later than if we did it tonight."

There was an awkward pause as the Marauders looked at each other, but Remus spoke up.

"My mum's ill again. I'm going back home tomorrow, right after classes."

"And we can't have a party without Moony!" Sirius said, swinging his arm around Remus' shoulders.

The girls laughed and the subject was officially dropped.

James looked at Remus and they both nodded, then in unison all four Marauders stood up and wiped their chocolatey mouths with napkins. "I'm sorry, ladies, but we'll have to bid you adieu. We need to get some supplies," James explained.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked suspiciously.

"Nip off to Hogsmeade for a couple of hours. We'll be back by lunch."

"Don't pick up strippers," Harley said.

"Can you get strippers in Hogsmeade?" Sirius asked, brow furrowed in curiosity.

"If you know where to look."

The Marauders chuckled before making their exit. Marlene waited until the tip of Sirius's gold crown finally left the Great Hall before speaking.

"Why don't we meet up in the dorm after dinner to wrap the presents? It's right before the party, so we can get ready then too."

"I'm seeing Liam then," Lily said, thinking of her boyfriend's somewhat odd request from yesterday.

"You'll have just spent Ancient Runes with him," Harley said exasperatedly.

"We're not going out. He just said he wanted to talk to me," she explained. Thinking on it, why _did _Liam want to see her? If it mattered so much, she could just sit with him during dinner. But he'd been acting a little weird all week. Kind of… distant.

What if he…

No! She couldn't just make assumptions like that.

"We can start without you, it's fine," Zoe said, cutting off Lily's thoughts. "Say hello to the boyfriend for us."

They were, of course, talking about Liam O'Haire, basically the sweetest, smartest and most attractive man in the entire school (well, a couple Gryffindors could give him a run for his money). Lily's boyfriend. Lily and Liam, together for nine months on Tuesday. They were fine. Just fine.

* * *

**The Morning After, Post Consciousness**

Lily was about to scream. Or cry. Or maybe laugh. She had a weird urge to laugh, but now was _so_ not the time.

All right, all right. Evaluate the situation.

She was in bed with James Potter.

James Potter.

James.

_Potter._

Her _very_ recent, completely platonic, friend. Past behind them, new beginning, the Head Boy to her Head Girl.

And she was in her underwear.

Oh Merlin.

What she really wanted right now was to get out of this situation.

And to get some medicine for her head, because _Merlin_, it was pounding.

Maybe she could just get down to the Hospital Wing. She knew people could get her a good potion.

Yes.

Plan.

Good.

Now, just to get out of bed-

Oh.

Right.

Not wearing anything but bra and panties. A quick wiggle and she learned that James seemed to only be wearing boxers.

Fuck.

Okay, she still needed to untangle herself (quite literally) from this one as well.

Breathe.

Just breathe- _is James starting to wake up?_

Lily stiffened. James mumbled a little bit and drew his arms closer, bringing Lily closer as well, nuzzling in close to her neck, still fast asleep. Lily felt warmer and realized she was blushing.

Blushing.

Because James was hugging her.

And was - um - not wearing much clothing.

But she wasn't even thinking about that!

Much.

Maybe she could just slip out and he wouldn't even wake up. Yes, that sounded like a plan to her. Good. Good plan. Plans are nice.

Now, to just slip the covers off - good. Yes.

Covers are off.

She still needed clothes

Shit.

Clothes.

Where are her clothes?

Just by looking around from the bed, her clothes were nowhere to be found. but she spotted a bright purple boa on the ground near her.

Shit.

Robes!

There was a robe hanging off the end of Sirius's bed.

Clothing target acquired.

She was still in James' arms.

Shit.

All right, moment of truth.

Lily took a deep (quiet) breath and gently raised James's arm. If she moved fast enough she could just slip out and he would never know!

Her heart pounding so loudly she was afraid it would wake him, Lily rolled out and dropped his arm, now facing James.

Yes! Now all she had to do was slowly back out-

"Whoozat?" James mumbled, his eyes flickering open and looking tiredly at her.

Shit.

Maybe she could still get out of this! He was still hungover! This could all be a dream! Maybe-

"Fuck, _Lily_?"

Damn.

"WHAT - WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"WHAT DID YOU _DO_, POTTER?"

They both sprang off the bed, Lily dragging the sheet to cover her body and James taking his pillow.

"WHAT DID _I _DO? WHAT DID _YOU _DO?"

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?"

"I WOKE UP HERE!"

"SHIT, ARE YOU NAKED?"

"NO, POTTER, FOR YOUR INFORMATION I AM NOT. MERLIN."

"WHY ARE YOU HERE?"

"_I DON'T KNOW_! I DON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING!"

"WELL, NEITHER DO I!"

"_FINE_."

"GOOD."

…

"NO. WAIT. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"Stop shouting!" Lily shouted, placing a hand against her painfully throbbing forehead.

"Oh, _I'm _sorry," James replied angrily. "I just woke up to find you _in my bed. NAKED!"_

"I'M_ NOT_ NAKED! I bet you know exactly how we ended up like this!"

"_What?_"

"Yeah, it was just another prank by you four!"

James rolled his eyes and glared at her, not dignifying the accusation with a response. Lilly mirrored his face and wrapped her blanket more securely around herself. They fell silent for a few more moments before James spoke up again.

"So - er - what are you doing here, again?"

"How many times are you going to ask me that before it gets into your _thick _scull, _I – don't – bloody – know," _she replied testily.

"Right. Yeah," he said awkwardly.

"You don't remember anything?" Lily asked.

"Nope. You?"

"Not much. It was Sirius's birthday."

"We had the party."

"I remember that. I know we _had _the party, but I don't remember much of anything about it."

"Neither do I."

The fell silent and looked at each other.

Lily cleared her throat, and decided it was a nice time to make her exit.

"I'm - uh - going to leave now."

"Good."

"And I'll be taking this with me," she said, lunging to drag Sirius's robes off his bed.

"Great."

"Well," Lily said.

"Bye."

"Yes."

"Great."

"Good."

"Fine."

"See you."

"Likewise."

After one more extremely awkward moment Lily dropped the sheet and quickly wrapped the robe around herself before sprinting out of the room, through the deserted Common Room, and up the Girl's staircase. She reached her own dormitory and fumbled with the door for a moment before finally reaching safety and slamming the door behind her.

Then she noticed Marlene standing in front of her own bed, running her hands through her blonde hair and shaking twigs and leaves to the floor. She whipped around at the sound of the door.

"Lily?" she asked, surprised. "What's wrong?"

Lily sighed. "You are _not _going to believe me."

* * *

**AN: Thank you to everyone who read/favorited~ ^_^ Chapter two will be up tomorrow!**

**Beta'd by Stefanie at Bigger and Beta on tumblr! **


	3. Chapter Two

**The Day of the Party, Lunch Time**

Lily plopped herself down on the bench and immediately put her head on Zoe's shoulder and pouted.

"Bad day so far?" Zoe asked without looking up from her sandwich.

"You know how much I hate Thursdays," the ginger replied.

"I don't," Zoe assured her, knowing that letting Lily explain her crazy theory would make her feel better. "Please tell me."

"_Because,"_ Lily began immediately, as though they rehearsed this, "I have two classes before lunch - just two! - but they're Arithmancy and History of _bloody_ Magic."

"We keep telling you to drop that class, Lil," she replied, offering Lily a piece of buttered bread.

"I need to get all the NEWTS I can."

"Seeing as you don't fancy being a magical historian, I doubt you'll need History of Magic."

"_Anyways_, Remus is in Arithmancy with me, which is all fine and dandy, but he sits on the other side of the room and we never have any free time-"

"And History of Magic is the worst class this school has to offer," Zoe finished.

"Exactly!"

"Hmm," Zoe said, chewing thoughtfully. "We've got the party, though. Nice antidepressant."

"True," Lily conceded. "Where is everyone?" She added, just now noticing the absence of Harley and Marlene.

"I think Harley is doing something for Divination-"

"Speaking of useless classes-"

"And Marlene is talking to Slughorn about the homework."

"Oh," Lily said. "All right. Would you mind if I left you? I should probably get as much homework done as I can, too."

"No problem," Zoe shrugged as she and Lily stood up. "I have to talk to Flitwick so I can get out of choir practice. See you in Defense?"

With one final wave, Lily and Zoe split up when they reached the large doorway to the Great Hall. Lily ascended the Staircase while Zoe went off to find Professor Flitwick, her short black hair bobbing in its ponytail.

When she finally made it to the last corridor leading to the Common Room, she could almost hear her History of Magic Essay calling to her from down the hall. Distracted by that thought, she almost didn't notice the tall, disheveled boy running full speed right at her.

"WATCH OUT!"

_"James?"_

"Oops! Sorry, Lily."

Lily jumped out of the way at just the right time, but noticed that James had not stopped moving. He was, in fact, running small circles in front of her, a look of annoyance on his face. His feet appeared to be little blurs attached to his ankles.

And they were tapping insistently.

_Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap._

"Not that I'm not impressed by your tap-dancing talents, but would you mind stopping that?" She asked him after about five seconds_._

"I _wouldn't_ mind, actually."

…_tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap._

"So?"

"So what?"

"Are you going to stop?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I can't."

"You can't."

"Nope."

"Why?"

James gave a great sigh, resting his head on his hand while trying (unsuccessfully) to remain still, but his feet still moved wildly underneath him.

"Every year," he began, "on Sirius's birthday, he always plays a prank on me. Well, actually, I do it on my birthday too. Could you please help me?"

"Why?" Lily asked.

"Because it's the right thing to do?"

"No, I mean - ugh," Lily flicked her wand and James feet stopped suddenly, causing Lily to shoot out her arms and steady him before he crumpled to the ground in a tangle of limbs and robes.

James sighed in relief. "Thanks."

"No problem," Lily said, watching him take his wand out of his shoe and stow it in his robe pocket. "So why do you two prank each other on your own birthdays?"

"No idea. It started in First Year. _That _was accidental. He turned my hair bright green when I tried to surprise him."

"I remember that," Lily smirked. "I thought Rosier did that after you bragged about Gryffindor's win over Slytherin in the Quidditch match. And you weren't even on the team then."

"Excuse me. I was one of the youngest and most dashing reserves the team had ever known, thank you very much."

"You were the _waterboy_."

"I have no idea what you're talking about and will continue on with my story as though there was no interruption."

"Of course," Lily smiled.

"Thank you," James said. "Now as I was saying, the tradition started from there. It's all revenge for the previous prank, and the first prank was because I failed in trying to surprise him. I was waiting with his present, hiding around a corner. When I saw him I yelled 'boo' and all that, and _bam! _green hair for First-Year James."

"That's a little weird."

"Not really," James shrugged. "Sirius _hates_ surprises. I guess when you grow up with a family like his, _no_ surprise was ever a good one."

Lily frowned. "Yeah, I guess so."

James could sense the sudden drop in the mood, and changed subjects back, now walking back towards the Portrait Hole with Lily.

"Anyways, he seemed to think it was simply the funniest thing on this planet, giving me green hair."

"Understandably."

"And a few months later, on _my_ birthday, I had him lulled into thinking he was safe, that I forgotten about it, and then hit him with a leg-locker curse while he was trying to chat up Gail Malone."

"And he fell forward and broke her nose with his forehead," Lily finished, smiling at the distant memory. "Gail hated him ever since."

"No she didn't," James protested. "Last year she snogged him behind the Beech Tree."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Anyways, so twice a year you two do unspeakably horrible things to each other just for fun?"

"Well," James said, "no. It's never been anything _horrible_. Except in Fifth Year, he made it so both my hands stayed in fists, except for my middle fingers. I got seventeen detentions that day."

"I thought you were just being a git," Lily admitted a little guiltily.

"No, I just wasn't going to rat Sirius out. It was his birthday, after all."

"That's… sweet, I guess," Lily said. James grinned at the compliment.

"So, are you excited for the party?"

"Yeah, I guess. Aren't you going to lunch?"

"My mother taught me to always walk a pretty girl to her door. And you don't sound too excited."

Lily almost blushed at his comment, but kept her cool. "I have a boyfriend, mister. And I am excited, I just… I don't know. Today's been a little 'blah'."

"Ah, 'blah' days. Gotcha. And it's okay, I'm not trying to come between The Hogwarts 'It' couple."

Now Lily _did _blush. "We are _not _The Hogwarts 'It' couple. That doesn't even exist."

"Not to _your_ knowledge, anyway."

"Hey!"

"I'm just saying, you aren't very in touch with Hogwarts Gossip!"

"And you are? How _very_ manly."

"You forget that I am on very good terms with Marlene, Harley, and Bailey Clarke, seeing as all three of them are on the Quidditch Team."

They arrived at the Portrait Hole, but neither made a move to go in or even look at the Fat Lady yet.

"So how big is the party going to be?" Lily asked, leaning her shoulder against the wall.

James shrugged, mirroring her action so he was facing her. "Remus isn't sure if we should let people from other houses join in. And if we do, who we'll invite."

"It's very obvious that this has been planned very carefully," Lily commented sarcastically.

"Right? But I suppose you can bring your arm candy."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Liam barely knows Sirius. He'll just feel weird coming to the party."

"What?" James said, shocked. "Lily Evans at a party and no boyfriend to watch over her?"

She punched his arm lightly. "Shut up, we're not attached at the hip."

"Who're you going to dance with?"

"I'll find people," she smiled slightly.

"Will you save one dance for me?" James asked quietly, leaning in a little closer.

"Only if it's a Beatles song."

"I'll make sure they're played."

Lily smiled and agreed. "I have to go. Homework, you know. No time to do it tonight."

"Oh," James said, almost forgetting that they were right outside the Gryffindor Common Room. "Right. I'll see you tonight?"

"Sure," she said. "_Happy Birthday_," she said to the Fat Lady. James had changed the password that morning for Sirius. Obediently, the portrait swung open, but before she could close it behind her, James spoke up.

"Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"Who're the Beatles?"

* * *

**The Day After, Breakfast**

"I still don't understand," Marlene said. "You - you woke up in James's _bed_."

Lily sighed. "_Yes_. I don't know how, and I don't know why. But I did."

"You two didn't - well-"

Lily's face drained of color. "We didn't _shag_ or anything! I mean, I wasn't wearing much clothing but I think I would _know_."

"Just making sure! And he doesn't know either?"

"Nope. No inkling of a clue at all."

"That's strange."

"Very."

"You think it has to do with the party last night?"

"Definitely," Lily answered. "I just don't remember any of it."

"Me neither. Do you get that feeling that you didn't sleep at _all_?" she asked exasperatedly.

Both of them had dark purple bags under their eyes, and Marlene reported that she found twigs in her hair. Lily had refused to tell her anything before they had both taken showers, since, quite frankly, they both stunk. While scrubbing off the scent of whatever happened last night, Lily felt a weird twinge of regret, like she was washing away all the signs of James from her skin. In frustration, she only scrubbed harder.

Now showered, fresh, and ready for the day of lessons, the two of them took some of Harley's headache-curing-potion that she kept in her bedside table (though, for some reason, half of it was missing) and walked down to the Great Hall to catch the last fifteen minutes of breakfast while Lily and Marlene filled each other in on what had happened not an hour earlier.

"The rest of us woke up this morning in The Three Broomsticks_,"_ Marlene explained. "Well, actually, Rosmerta woke us up. She said something about us being irresponsible, and then she called a carriage for us. We were all too knackered to argue, really. Everyone else is at breakfast, but I came up to see if you were in the dormitory."

When they finally entered the room, everything was so loud and normal it was almost like that morning hadn't happened at all. It took a couple of seconds to find Zoe and Harley sitting across the Marauders, all of them practically falling asleep into their porridge and toast.

"So I'm not the only one who needs some caffeine?" Marlene asked them loudly to get their attention, sitting down next to Harley.

"Fuck off, I'm sleeping," the brunette whispered.

Lily sat next to Marlene while the blonde held a cup of coffee under Zoe's nose in an attempt to wake her up.

Lily glanced at James, who was ignoring her and pushing around the scrambled eggs on his plate. Remus, Sirius, and Peter seemed to be cycling through extreme fatigue and starvation, shoveling in food one moment and pausing to set their heads on the table as though they were trying to fall asleep then and there. A quick glance to Zoe told Lily that she was still dozing, something Lily wished she could do as well. Another look to James and he was still having a staring contest with his breakfast.

Behind them, they heard someone's throat clear.

They all turned around and saw Mary MacDonald, Sixth Year and friend of theirs, holding a slip of parchment.

"What's that?" Harley asked her, sitting up and taking the cup of coffee from Marlene. The arrival of Mary at least encouraged everyone else to sit up (and Zoe to regain consciousness), since she obviously had news.

"It's not good," Mary said, frowning and handing it to Lily. "It's your detentions. McGonagall asked me to give it to you."

"Our _what_?" Lily stammered out.

"Detentions," Mary repeated, looking like she'd rather eat her own hair than tell the Head Girl that she had detention. "According to this, you eight were out of the castle at two in the morning."

"Shit," Sirius muttered.

"So what were you all doing?" Mary asked.

"Does anyone remember?" Harley looked at the group.

"I don't remember much of anything," Peter said.

"I don't think any of us do," James spoke up for the first time, the sound of his voice giving Lily goosebumps.

"You don't _remember_?" Mary's brown eyes went wide. "How much did you all drink last night?"

"Well, it was fairly obvious we were all _very _drunk," Sirius said. "What a great party."

"You don't even remember it!" Harley reminded him.

"That's how you know it was so good."

"You're ridiculous."

"This says _I _was the one who issued the detention," Lily said, reading the detention slip. "Why would I give detention to myself?"

"No idea," Mary said. "I figured it was just Head Girl guilt."

"How can you give a detention and not remember it?" Zoe asked curiously.

"There's a book," James explained blearily. "It only works for teachers, and the Head Girl and Boy. Any of them say they're giving a detention, and the book updates itself. McGonagall usually checks it at the end of every day, and makes the slips."

"Why were we drunk?" Lily asked, turning her attention away from the slip and to the Seventh Years. "There wasn't any alcohol at the party."

Immediately, the table laughed and the redhead looked around at them, confused and embarrassed.

"Evans, we can't remember shit, and I woke up with the worst headache of my life," Sirius said through his chuckles. "Fuck, I don't even know where my wand is, and I'm hoping to Merlin it's just in our dorm. I _think_ there was some Firewhiskey. And don't you remember? After all the kids went to bed, you told me it was all right."

"But _why?_" Lily asked, frustrated. "I would never let you do that!"

Harley turned to Lily, remembering something. "Freckles, you weren't exactly your normal serene and clear-thinking self then, remember?"

"Why not? I don't - oh." The morning bell chimed, and as everyone but the Gryffindor Seventh Years stood up to go to their first classes, she watched as a group of Ravenclaws walk by with Liam in the heart of the pack, laughing with his friend. He made it out of the Hall, not looking once at her on his way out.

"Right. I remember now."

* * *

**AN: Woo melodramatic Lily is coming out to play! **

**But really though. **

**For some reason I really like the LJ scene in the beginning of the chapter. Like normally I hate most things that are produced by my typing hands, but I just really enjoyed writing and reading that scene. What? I'm the only one who thinks so? I knew it. **

**I'm kidding - I hope you guys liked this chapter over all! ^_^ Chapter three tomorrow night! **

**Beta'd by Stefanie over at Bigger and Beta on tumblr! :D**


	4. Chapter Three

**The Day of the Party, After Dinner**

"We'll meet you in the dormitory, Lil," Marlene assured her as she left with Zoe, Harley, and the Marauders up to Gryffindor Tower. "Remember, we have to wrap presents!"

"Oh please, don't inconvenience yourselves on my account," Sirius said, pretending to blush. "You didn't even have to get me anything. Just pop out of a cake in a bikini and I'm happy."

"Well, that's an odd request," James said, shrugging. "But for _you _Padfoot, I suppose me and Moony could make that happen next year. I may have to borrow one of your swimsuits…" he trailed off, looking at the girls.

They laughed while Sirius scowled. "Mate, you need to keep your undeniable crush on me in check, now it's just getting awkward."

"The heart wants what the heart wants."

"Bye, Lily!" Zoe called as they rounded the corner, leaving Lily at the base of the stairs, watching her friends in amusement.

"See you!" Lily called over her shoulder. She was going to join them soon, just after meeting with Liam.

She still didn't know what he wanted. All through Ancient Runes he hadn't acted any differently than normal. When they partnered up for the classwork Professor Babbling assigned, they got their work done quickly and spent the remaining time talking like they normally did. Nothing seemed wrong.

"Hello."

Lily nearly jumped out her skin. She spun around and saw Liam himself right behind her, smiling sweetly.

"Hi!" Lily said brightly, admiring the way his blonde hair looked perfectly tousled. She unconsciously ran a hand through her hair, attempting to make it look perfect. She stood on her toes to give him a quick kiss, but he looked at a passerby and greeted them. It was timed so that Lily couldn't tell if he was purposefully ignoring her or just happened to look away at the wrong moment. Nevertheless, she put her heels back on the ground and ran her hand through her hair again, this time uncomfortably.

"Shall we go down to the lake?" Liam asked. Without really waiting for an answer, he took her hand and pulled her through the castle until they reached the cliff overlooking the lake.

He led her to a bench and sat down, but didn't say anything.

Lily hated the silence. They usually never ran out of things to say. She sat up straighter and attempted conversation. "Are you going to come to Sirius's party? I can give you the password to the Common Room."

Liam shook his head. "No, thanks though. I just… would feel awkward."

Lily nodded, his answer only confirming her suspicions. "Well, why don't you come just for me?" she asked, giving him a small smile.

"Because… well, Lily…"

"What's this about?" Lily asked, her eyes flashing almost dangerously.

Liam visibly gulped.

"Well, you see…"

* * *

Lily walked down the corridor leading to the Gryffindor Common Room in a daze.

_"It's for the best, I think…"_

She had an odd feeling in her chest that she couldn't quite place.

_"…it's just, with this being our NEWT year I think we both need to focus on our studies…"_

It wasn't sadness. Well, part of it was, but she didn't even feel like crying for some reason.

_"…I care about you, I do…"_

Lily almost felt… angry? It wasn't the weird feeling in her chest, but anger _was_ present.

_"We had a good run, but…"_

No warning. Just like that - boom.

_"…I think we should see other_ _people."_

But she didn't really care, and that almost scared her a little. Nine months, and she can't even shed a tear for her ex boyfriend? Mary would be disgusted with her. She didn't understand it. When she and Xander Macon split in Fifth Year, she at least ate a bowl full of ice cream, and they'd only been together for seven weeks!

It was almost like - and it pained her to admit this to herself - she was _relieved_. And she knew exactly why.

* * *

**The Day After, Transfiguration Class**

**Hey, Lily.**

I'm trying to take notes, Harley.

**Just ask James for help during lunch, you know this is his best subject.**

I really don't want to be anywhere near James at the moment.

**I know it's awkward, but none of us remember anything. This will all blow over in a day or two.**

It's still embarrassing.

**Lily, I woke up with twigs in my hair and dirt all over my face.**

I woke up practically naked with James!

**Hmm… Fair point, I guess you win. Did you get your clothes back?**

They were on my bed when I went up before class. I guess he put them back or something.

**Good, because Zoe wants her dress back.**

It smells like the lake.

**Why?**

No idea, but I _am_ starting to remember a little bit.

**Yeah? I am, too. But mostly I just remember what happened before the younger students went to bed. When was that? Around midnight?**

That's what I remember too. We got dressed, came downstairs and James made everyone yell 'surprise' when Sirius walked in. Then it was just normal. They had cake and everything.

**And when everyone went to bed, you let Sirius bring out the Firewhiskey. And then I guess we drank.**

A lot.

**Yeah. But at least we remember that much!**

Small comfort. Everything else is still blank. Why did we go outside, anyway?

**You're asking the wrong person. You were the one who gave us detention, after all.**

True, but I don't remember doing it.

**Whatever-**

"Miss Evans, Miss Pensky, would you kindly _pay attention_?"

Lily snapped her head up from the parchment and sent a guilty smile towards McGonagall. "Sorry, Professor."

* * *

**The Party, 20:43**

"That should do it, Moony," James said.

Remus flicked his wand and the banner reading "Happy Birthday!" in large block letters pasted itself to the wall.

The Common Room was completely transformed. Remus, James, and Peter had gone to the kitchens immediately after dinner and brought up snacks, Butterbeer, and pitchers of a fruity drink to put in the punch bowl. Sirius gathered decorations and then made himself scarce, going to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff and extending invitations to some of their friends. He said he'd be back at 8:30, so they only had about five minutes.

Practically everyone in Gryffindor house was mulling around the Common Room, waiting for the party to start, but James noticed four girls were missing.

"Hey, Bailey!" he called to the pretty Sixth Year prefect. She turned away from her group of friends and James, like most of the male species, couldn't help but admire the way she looked. Bailey was a distant cousin of Sirius', and though they've never looked that much alike, she'd gotten the basic Black traits: long, shiny dark hair and eyes lined with thick, black lashes.

"Hey. Where's the birthday boy?" she asked.

"He's gone to get our friends from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. But that's not important. Could you do me a favor and go see what's taking Lily and them so long? Sirius will be back soon."

Bailey rolled her eyes, as if she knew something James didn't. "Of course. _Sirius _will be upset by them not showing up."

"What are you on about?" James asked, confused.

The Sixth Year shrugged innocently. "Nothing. I'll go get them."

"Thanks."

"Mhm." She turned on her heel and ushered her best friend, Mary, up the stairs with her.

James watched them ascend the steps and turned back around to help Peter pour the punch into the bowl.

* * *

"He broke up with you?"

Lily was sitting on her bed, with Marlene, Zoe, and Harley, who were all in various stages of getting dressed, standing around her, frowning. Lily was about to answer but the sound of their door banging against the wall made her start and turn around to see Bailey and Mary standing in the doorway.

"Christ, barge in on us again, please, I don't think my heart skipped enough beats," Zoe said, putting a hand over her heart for dramatic effect.

"Sorry," Bailey winced, the two of them walking into the room and joining Lily on her bed. It was not unusual for the two Sixth Years to be in the Seven Years' dorm. Bailey was on the Quidditch Team, and she was already good friends with Harley and Marlene. Mary was just the type of sociable person who got on well with everyone.

"Lily?" Mary prompted.

"Hm? Oh. Yeah, he did. Just now." Her voice sounded a little flat, and she stared at a blank piece of wall.

"Are you… all right?" Zoe asked.

Lily shrugged. "You know, it's weird. We've been together nine months, and I… I don't feel _anything_. Not sadness, not anger. Well, actually there is some anger. But it's like… I feel relaxed. Relieved. Like I knew this was going to happen and I've been waiting for a while. But I _wasn't_. It caught me totally off guard."

"Did you love him?" Bailey asked.

"No," Lily answered, no hesitation.

"That's probably it," Marlene said. "You two were together just to… be together, I suppose. I mean, there's nothing _wrong _with Liam-"

"Oh, no, I'm not saying that," Lily defended herself, "he's lovely, but-"

"I don't know, I thought he was kind of a prat," Harley interrupted.

"But you two just didn't really have anything special," Marlene said, rolling her eyes at Harley's comment. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"No," Lily concluded, lying back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. The five other girls all exchanged looks.

Bailey cleared her throat. "Not the best time, obviously, but James sent me and Mary up here to remind you the party is starting soon."

This caused the four Seventh Years to motivate. Lily sat up immediately and rifled through her trunk for her makeup bag while Marlene ran into the bathroom.

"Is this a dress robes type of thing?" Marlene called from where she was stationed in front of the mirror.

"Everyone downstairs is going Muggle," Bailey informed them.

"Harley, can I wear your silver hoops?" Zoe asked.

"Only if I get your flats."

Zoe walked briskly out of the bathroom with her wand held up to her eyes, curling her lashes before carefully moving to their shared closet and taking a midnight blue party dress from her designated area. "Lily?"

The Head Girl turned around and looked over to the brunette questioningly.

"You should wear this." And she threw it at her.

"With my gold necklace?"

"And these shoes," Marlene added, pulling a pair of Lily's own strappy heels from under her bed.

"How long have you had those?" Lily asked, frowning.

"I think I borrowed them for the summer festival."

"That was last year, Mar."

"I'm giving them back now, aren't I?" Marlene smiled guilty, but Lily couldn't stay angry. "Besides, you never missed them."

"And you need to do something about your hair," Mary prompted, as though it was obvious.

"What's wrong with my hair?" Lily asked.

"Nothing, of course, you're gorgeous," Mary assured her. "But you're officially on rebound! You need to show Liam that you aren't tied down to him."

They all sent Mary A Look.

"What?" she said defensively. "This _matters_."

"Whatever, Mary," Lily smiled. "Let's just finish getting dressed."

"Eight-thirty!" Bailey reminded them before she and Mary set off downstairs.

* * *

The party had been going on for almost three hours, and it was a marvelous success. They had acquired a giant cake that was only half-eaten and sitting on one of the food tables laden with sweets and drinks. Lily spent the evening chatting with friends, playing a few party games, and dancing for most of the night. Right now she was getting a drink and looking over the crowd. She hadn't seen James much the entire night.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Lily, who had been taking a sip from her Butterbeer, almost inhaled the entire thing out of surprise. Speak of the devil.

"Blimey! Sorry, did I scare you?" James laughed, patting Lily on the back while she coughed to clear her throat.

"Oh - er - no," Lily said, turning red. "Just surprised me is all."

"Right," James grinned. "So, O'Haire broke up with you?" he asked conversationally.

Lily almost choked on her drink again. "You really aren't one for tact," she commented drily.

James shrugged. "Didn't really feel like tip-toeing over the obvious."

"Who told you?"

"Mary."

"'Course," Lily smiled and shook her head at her predictable friend.

"Are you all right? I mean - not that you don't look it. Usually when a girl gets dumped she's crying or something, but you… you look all right."

Lily shrugged. "I'm fine. We weren't right for each other, so why waste time mourning over something that would've never worked?"

"Are you saying that because you really believe it or because he dumped you unexpectedly?" James asked bluntly.

Lily's shoulders dropped a bit. "A bit of both, I guess," she admitted.

"Hey, there's no problem getting dolled up after a break up. Especially at a party - best place for a rebound, see?"

Lily laughed. "You sound like Mary."

"Well, if she's the one who put you in that little ensemble, I'll have to thank her," he gestured to her outfit. James's expression went softer, and he said in a gentler tone, "You look really pretty, Lil."

The Head Girl blushed. "Thanks. You look all right, yourself."

James frowned. "Hmm…I would've preferred 'dashing' or even 'incredibly sexy'. But I guess 'all right' will have to work."

Lily laughed again and when she heard a familiar song start playing, she grabbed his hands. "C'mon."

"Er… why?"

"I said we'd dance to a Beatles song, remember?"

The look of joy on James's face almost made her blush again, but they joined the throng of people in the middle of the cleared-out space in the Common Room and he twirled her around to "Hold Me Tight" while most of the people in the room sung along.

Beside her, Harley was taking silly pictures of Sirius with Marlene's Muggle camera (charmed to work off of magic). Zoe and Remus were organizing records and deciding which songs to play next, while Marlene was talking to Bailey and Mary.

Lily looked over James's shoulder to see a small first year girl go up to Sirius and ask for a dance. He agreed, and exaggeratedly waltzed her through the crowd. She giggled and made to tell James to look, but as soon as she made eye contact she stopped.

It's silly, Lily thought to herself, how little you _really _notice someone. She'd spent many a late night with James, going over schedules and detentions with James, talking to James, laughing with James, and just simply _being_ with James, but she felt like she was finally just looking at him. With her shoes, she was only a few inches shorter than him, and could clearly see the gold and green flecks in his eyes, how they were almost magnified by his glasses. She didn't notice that they slowed their previously vigorous dance to a slow rotation while everyone around them continued twirling and jumping. She noticed that his cheeks had a definite reddish tint to them. They were chest-to-chest, their noses were inches apart, and Lily's eyes roamed his entire face. His eyes, the impossibly pale sprinkling of freckles on his upper cheeks, the fullness of his lips, how they seemed to be getting closer to her own...

James suddenly lurched forward, his forehead hitting Lily's painfully. They both gasped in pain and wheeled around to see what had caused it.

"Oh, sorry!" A Fifth Year Lily didn't recognize giggled before continuing on her path to her friends.

James turned back around and looked at Lily, and suddenly it was _very _awkward.

"I - er - I'm going to - uh - go," Lily stammered, eyes wide.

James's hand leaped to his hair and muttered some sort of agreement before they both walked in opposite directions.

Lily caught Harley's eye, and one questioning look from the brunette and Lily knew she saw most of what just happened. Lily mouthed, _I'll tell you later!_ and ducked back into the crowd.

* * *

**The Day After, Transfiguration**

Lily wasn't paying very much attention to Professor McGonagall after she and Harley stopped passing notes. Every time she looked up, she could see Liam glaring at her. When he saw her notice him, he would quickly look away. The rest of the boys in Ravenclaw looked a tad put out as well, but Liam was just glaring, and she had no idea why.

Also, on the other hand, James was sitting directly in front of her, and it was driving her crazy. Maybe she should apologize. But apologize for what? _"Sorry, I was completely sloshed last night, I hope the fact that I was barely clothed and in your bed doesn't bother you any." _But then again, this wasn't _her _fault. Technically, it wasn't his either, but, well… that wasn't the point.

The bell signaled the end of class, and the Seventh Years immediately pushed back on their chairs and stuffed their books into their bags. The room was filled with chatter as everyone shouldered their bags and left the classroom.

Before she lost any sort of her nerve, Lily gently grabbed James's elbow. "James, wait."

Startled, he tensed up but stopped walking. "Save me a seat," he said to Sirius' curious look.

James stood in front of Lily, his arms crossed defensively in front of his chest, giving her a look that said, _'Well?'_

"Er," Lily started. "How are you?"

Jams gave her an exasperated look. "Spectacular."

Lily flinched at his tone. "Look, I - I know that this is really _awkward, _but - do you suppose we could both just forget about it?"

Something flashed in James's eyes. It was almost like a flicker of disappointment, but it was gone so quickly Lily couldn't catch it.

"What? It's so embarrassing to have been in bed with me? I dunno how to tell you this, but I've already told half the school."

Lily stammered and gaped like a drowning fish (very attractive). "You _what_?"

"I'm kidding."

"Oh," Lily sighed in relief. "I just… think it would be easier."

"Right."

"We were sloshed, James," she said softly. "I… I don't think it would've happened otherwise."

This time, she definitely saw a look of hurt cross his face, and she was surprised to feel very upset because of that.

But then he was smiling and rolling his eyes. "Of course it wouldn't've, Lily," he ran a hand through his hair. "People do stupid things when there's Firewhiskey involved."

Lily gave a small smile. "Yeah, you're right."

"Anyways, let's get to class before Professor Rostlin gives us the cranky Venomous Tentacula." He shouldered his bag and gestured for her to join him, but then he shot a look of dislike past her.

Lily spun around to see Liam approaching them.

"Lily," he said in greeting.

"Oh… hi."

"Potter, do you think you could give us a moment?" Liam asked politely, but the underlying tone made it obvious he didn't care what James did.

James didn't look like he was going anywhere. "I'll see you in Herbology," Lily told him. Finally, he walked out of the classroom and turned down the hallway towards the Green Houses.

Lily crossed her arms and gave Liam her attention. "What do you want?"

The Ravenclaw looked affronted. "I don't know why _you're_ angry," he said.

Lily frowned. "Are you kidding me? What have _I _done to _you_?"

"Oh, don't play dumb," Liam accused. "It doesn't suit you." He rubbed his eyes in irritation. "Fine, look, I get it. You were angry. Despite it being _entirely _immature, so long as you at least _apologize_, I won't report it."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that you trashed my dormitory!" Liam accused.

"_What?_ I haven't done anything!"

"Then why did it say 'Love from Lily and the Gryffindors' on the wall next to my bed?" Liam asked drily.

Lily's eyes widened. "Er…"

Liam rolled his eyes. "Whatever, be that way. I expected more of you, Lily." He turned and stalked away.

It was then that Lily remembered exactly what he was talking about, for on the back of his cloak, unbeknownst to Liam, it said "Pansy" in pink cursive letters surrounded by flowers.

* * *

**AN: So this is super emberassing, because I finished the whole story about two weeks ago, I edited myself and then I sent it to be beta'd and separated the chapters into different story docs and literally just every day I add an Author's Note and publish it. I don't even read over them I'm so done with reading this fic.**

**So I finally read this chapter over again and I'm sitting here like "What? We haven't even gotten to the lake yet?" (lol spoilers) and yeah. Like I feel like things are going really slow. But this works for me, the every day updates and such. **

**Final count of chapters is eight - a prologue, six chapters, and an epilogue (which will be published with chapter six because its only like 800 words). We're on chapter three, so only three updates left! :D Excited? **

**Be sure to review, they fill me with the sort of happiness that only reviews can bring! ^_^ **

**Beta'd by Stefanie at Bigger and Beta on tumblr! :D**

**PS: Someone made me think of this - I in NO WAY encourage underage drinking/heavily drinking/starting a relationship whilst drunk. Just a story line! Be responsible! ^_^**


	5. Chapter Four

**The Party, 00:03**

As the clock struck midnight, more and more students retreated to their dorm rooms for bed. All that was left were the Gryffindor Seventh Years, half of the Sixth Years, and maybe three (brave or annoying, Lily couldn't decide) Fifth Years that were talking near the fireplace. Still, the music played and the upperclassmen danced and chatted, giving no indication that they were ready to leave the Common Room. Lily's entire being was itching to do something - something different. But she wasn't quite sure what.

She saw Sirius sitting on the loveseat, fiddling with the sleeve of his shirt, so she wandered over.

"Hey, birthday boy," she greeted, sitting beside him. "Why aren't you partying?"

Sirius held up the sleeve of his shirt, which sported a large pinkish stain. "Wormtail was clumsy with the punch. I can't get the stain out."

Lily took her wand out of her back pocket and tapped his arm twice. Immediately, the stain disappeared and his shirt was dry.

Sirius looked impressed. "Thanks. So, how are you?"

Lily shrugged. "It's a good party."

"Wow, don't get _too _excited," Sirius remarked sarcastically.

Lily laughed. "It's a fab party. I'm just kind of not in the mood."

"Ah," Sirius nodded. "You know, Firewhiskey tends to make any sort of engagement a whole lot better. And if we get Zoe drunk enough she'll probably start singing."

Lily paused. "You know, Sirius-"

"I'm just kidding, Evans," he cut her off hastily.

"No," Lily said, "You know what? I don't care. Bring some out, most of the people left are over seventeen."

Sirius looked shocked. "Who are you and what have you done with Lily Evans?"

"Shut up," Lily laughed. "I'm just feeling a bit… rebellious."

He gave her a blank stare. "You know, if you return Evans safe and sound, we won't attack your organization."

"Sirius, I'm about to change my mind."

"Righto! Let me just go get James' stash."

* * *

Sirius returned two minutes later with several bottles of Firewhiskey. The people who noticed cheered, which grabbed the attention of everyone else.

Lily caught James's gaze from across the room and she smiled shyly at him. He returned the smile and ruffled his hair almost self-consciously.

"Hey, Sirius," Harley said after opening her bottle of Firewhiskey. "You normally do something on your birthday."

"I do a lot of things a lot of days."

"No," she continued impatiently. "I mean like a prank. It's kind of been expected since third year."

"Hmm," he considered this. "Well, I already got James, but I suppose you're right."

"We haven't really done anything big this year," Peter pointed out.

"That's true," James spoke up. "Blimey, what's wrong with us?"

"It's this thing called 'maturity,'" Lily answered. "Don't worry, it happens to everyone. You should probably ask your parents about it, though."

"I suppose we could just put up some banners," Sirius suggested half-heartedly, completely ignoring Lily's comment.

"That's boring," Harley said.

"Maybe," Marlene said, "because it won't actually be a birthday prank, it doesn't have to be birthday themed."

"We could decorate the Slytherin Common Room," Peter said.

"You know how to get into the Slytherin Common Room?" Zoe asked.

"Well… no."

"Not a good idea, then," Remus said. "Sorry, Pete."

"You could get into the Ravenclaw Common Room," Zoe said.

"We don't have an argument with the Ravenclaws," Sirius replied.

"What about one specific dorm?" Lily asked.

They fell silent.

"I mean, we_ could_ do it," Lily said with more determination. The air around them was tense as everyone caught on to exactly what Lily was suggesting and why. They exchanged glances. A few shrugged.

"I think it'd be fun," Harley added slowly, sitting up.

James followed suit. "I'm up for it."

Sirius jumped to his feet. "Let's do it!"

"Bailey!" James called. The sixth year turned around. "Make sure no one under seventeen touches the Firewhiskey, yeah?"

"Aye, captain!" She winked, turning back to Mary and the other Sixth Years.

* * *

_"Why is a raven like a writing desk?"_

…

"Is that it?" Sirius asked.

"That doesn't make any sense," Harley protested.

The eagle knocker looked at them sternly.

"What do you guys think?" James asked the group quietly.

He was met with lost and confused faces.

"Now come on, we can figure this out!" Marlene said, trying to rally the troops. "Let's just all think for a bit, yeah?"

They fell silent, all mulling over the question. Harley and Zoe were taking a team approach, discussing their ideas with each other. Remus had his eyes closed and seemed to be concentrating hard. Lily was muttering under her breath, as though reciting a novel.

"They're both black?" Peter suggested.

"They both have quills!" Zoe said triumphantly. Everyone looked expectantly at the brass eagle.

The eagle seemed to consider it, then shook its head.

"Bloody hell," Sirius said. "Here's an answer: why should we _care_?"

"Maybe we need to think about from a differ-"

"I haven't the slightest idea," Lily said suddenly, interrupting James and turning to the eagle knocker.

"Nor I," Remus supplied, catching on to her train of thought.

"I think you might do something better with the time, than wasting it in asking riddles that have no answer," Lily finished with a smile.

She and Remus beamed at each other.

Funnily enough, the knocker did as well. "I find only benefits come with being well read, Miss Evans, Mister Lupin." The door swung open silently.

"What in Godric's name was that?" James whispered to her once they were all inside.

"_Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_," Lily muttered back, barely audible. "Now shush, we're on a mission now."

James raised his eyebrows, but smirked and stayed quiet from then on.

Lily led the group towards the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, where two doors were on either side of her. She reached out and slowly turned the handle of the one on the left. As quietly as she could, she opened the door wide enough for a person to get through. One by one, the eight of them stepped through the small opening into the almost pitch black staircase.

James ignited his wand and dimmed it, checking the label on the first door. _First Years_.

"We have to climb to the top?" Harley whispered.

Lily shrugged in response. They slowly and silently climbed the winding staircase until reaching the next landing. _Second Years. _This one had the names of the occupants written on it, but the handwriting was too difficult to read in such dim light.

"Yes," she answered Harley's question.

They picked up their pace a bit, not stopping to check the labels on every door. There were a few times when someone would stumble, or a stair would creak and they would all freeze, eyes widening and ears perking, listening for the smallest of sounds.

Finally they were at the Seventh Year door. Lily put her finger to her lips, reminding the party to be extra quiet. They all nodded, looks of determination on each of their faces.

She opened the door and was relieved to see the moon shining through the large window. The Head Girl indicated to James that he could put his wand out, and he understood immediately.

Once they were all in the dormitory, kneeling down in the center, they realized they had no plan.

They exchanged glances. A universal look of _'what do we do now?' _was on all of their faces. Marlene looked at them all and shrugged. She then pointed her wand at the walls and muttered something, causing the walls to turn a sickly, bright pink.

Harley and Zoe suppressed giggles and followed suit, shooting toilet paper out of their wands and draping it over the midnight blue curtains.

The Marauders all smirked and soon everyone was adding their own decoration to the room.

James and Sirius went into the bathroom and transfigured everything into feminine cosmetics, adding a pink fluffy toilet seat cover for effect. Peter and Remus altered their robes so they said various things like "Wanker", "Pansy", and "Twat" on the back.

Lily stood next to Liam's bed and observed the blank space on the wall. With as little noise as possible, she took out her wand and printed "Love From Lily and the Gryffindors" in red and gold lettering.

"You sure about that, Freckles?" Harley whispered as quietly as she could.

Lily nodded. "Let's go," she said to Harley and to Zoe, who was still perfecting the placement of the toilet paper. They nodded and went to get Remus and Peter while Lily went to the bathroom to retrieve Sirius and James.

They were in the process of scattering tampons all around the small space.

"Charming," she whispered drily.

"Yeah, we thought so," James answered cheekily. "Are we leaving?"

Lily nodded and they followed her out. Harley and Zoe had gathered everyone else and together they left the room as though nothing had happened, calmly making their way down the staircase and through the castle.

Sirius sighed in contentment once they were safely back in their own Common Room. "This is the _best_ birthday ever. Everyone!" he suddenly called to the room. "We will be having a tournament of Mugs to get really sloshed, so… divide into pairs of two." He and James high fived, signaling that they would be a pair. Lily looked at Marlene.

"Ah, Lily, you know I can't deny you with your puppy eyes and everything," Marlene said, rolling her eyes. "Even though I know you're absolute crap at holding your liquor."

Lily smiled mischievously. "Let's just get knocked out early, then, so I don't embarrass you."

"Deal."

* * *

"And - and - and then he just _dumped _me!"

"Evans, my love, I would _never_ dump you," Sirius slurred, draping his arm around Lily's shoulders, both of them heavily intoxicated at that point.

They were sitting on the couch again, after Sirius and James destroyed everyone in Mugs. It was a rather spectacular sight. Sirius and James versus Mary and Bailey for the championship. Bailey had excellent aim, but Mary was very lightweight and barely made it five minutes into that round before she started swaying on the spot. From there it somehow turned into 'Who can drink this amount of alcohol the fastest', ending in James dramatically slamming his empty mug onto the table when he finished. It was quite a victory.

"In _fact_ I have half a mind to go to that prat and just - just _hit _him. You know?"

"Yeah," Lily agreed, dropping her head onto his shoulder. "You understand me, Sirius."

"We are two loveless souls in a world full of twats," Sirius said dramatically.

"I think I'd be much happier if _we _were dating," Lily murmured.

"Aw, shucks, Evans, just because it's my birthday doesn't mean you have to say things like that. Besides, what about James?"

"Hmmm… I suppose our undeniable love would hurt his feelings. I don't want to hurt James."

"I know you don't."

"I think I love James."

"I know, love."

* * *

**The Day After, Herbology**

"That's wild, what happened with you and Evans," Sirius said.

"More like insane," Remus supplied.

"But, you know… you're not dead, so it turned out all right," Peter said encouragingly.

"If I could _bloody remember what happened_ it might ease some of the pain, but I don't," James said sourly, remembering to keep his voice quiet. Though it was always active in Herbology, he didn't want any of the girls to hear them from their spot only a few stations down.

"Yeah, you don't even know if she was a good shag or not," Sirius said. "Dammit! I _hate_ this _fucking _plant!"

"Diffindo!" Remus cried, pointing his wand at the Venomous Tentacula. It seemed to cry out, but it released its vines from around Sirius's waist.

"It wasn't like _that,_" James rolled his eyes, as though nothing had just happened. "We were both clothed." More or less. But just the memory of Lily in her lacy midnight blue ensemble made James's ears turn red, so he kept it to himself.

"Merlin, did you even snog, or did you just tuck her into bed and fall asleep?" Sirius asked, inspecting his skin for injury.

James punched him on the arm. "I wish I knew!"

They fell silent.

"So, do any of you remember a time when and Lily and I weren't with you?" he asked, getting conversation started again.

"Not really," Peter said. "I… kind of vaguely remember going down to the lake. On the dock. And high heels. I definitely remember high heels."

"No shit, Wormtail, every girl in the place was wearing high heels."

"Sirius, you're being an arse again."

"Sorry."

"It doesn't matter. Maybe we should all just forget about last night, and stop obsessing over it," Remus suggested.

James looked up, smirking. "Why? Did you do something you never want to remember?"

Remus glared at him. "No, I didn't wake up with a girl in her underwear in my bed."

"I said _didn't _want to remember."

"I just meant, maybe if we stop trying so hard to remember, something simple will just jog our memory."

James thought about. "Hmm… maybe. But I don't see how that'll work. What do you two think?"

He turned to Sirius and Peter, only to see them looking at a large golden thing on a piece of fabric in Sirius's hands.

"What's that?"

"Dunno," Sirius said. "I found it in my pocket; I'm wearing the same robes from last night-"

"No kidding, you smell like shit-"

"And I just felt it there and pulled it out. It's kind of smudged, but it looks like someone enlarged a galleon and wrote on it in ink."

Sirius passed the medal to Remus and James, and they both inspected it. It was in fact just an enlarged galleon, and the ink was illegibly smudged, but they could just make out "winner" on it.

"What do you think it is?" James asked them.

"Haven't the foggiest," responded Sirius.

Remus turned it over in his hands and inspected the hair ribbon that was magically attached to it so that you could wear the medallion around your neck.

"Huh. Maybe we had some sort of drunken contest last night, and Sirius won."

"Or he nicked the medal because he was jealous," James suggested, smirking.

"You're hilarious, Potter."

"Wait!" Peter suddenly spoke up after being in silent thought. "I got it! Don't you remember?"

"Obviously not," came Sirius's impatient reply.

"Mr. Teen Hogwarts!"

* * *

**AN: Lol short chapter. I hate to tell you, but the next one is even shorter (woops) but then you get like 5000 words Friday night yay!**

**Two updates left guys! **

**Thanks for the reviews as always! 3 I always look forward to checking my email when I get home (:**

**Beta'd by Stefanie over at Bigger and Beta on tumblr! :D**


	6. Chapter Five

**The Party, 1:26**

The Sixth Years cleared out slowly. Soon, the only people left were the Lily, Marlene, Harley, Zoe, the Marauders, and one Fifth Year boy who was fast asleep on one of the couches.

The conscious eight were talking in a little circle, discussing relevant and important topics while they passed around a single bottle of Firewhiskey.

"I got a question," James asked, taking a swig from the bottle. "For the girls."

"Yes, we wear each other's bras," Zoe said, taking the bottle from him and swaying slightly.

"No," James rolled his eyes. "Why the _fuck _do you wear high heels but then complain about having to wear them?"

"Because they make our legs look better," Lily answered.

"_How?_"

"'Dunno, they just look longer."

"But what if they make you taller than a bloke?" Peter asked.

Harley wrapped her arms around Peter's shoulders. "Oh, Peanut, we'll never be too tall for you." She kissed him on the cheek and rested her head on his shoulder. Peter blushed. They passed the bottle around some more.

"I'm bored," Marlene complained.

"We can play spin the bottle," Sirius suggested with a roguish wink, waving the now empty bottle in the air.

"_No_," Remus said, taking the bottle from him and setting it on a table not far from their circle.

"You ruin my fun, Moony."

Zoe had been reading the back label of the bottle when she suddenly gasped and looked to each of them.

"I have an idea!"

"Shoot," James said.

"Mr. Teen Hogwarts!"

Their eyes went wide.

"No one at Hogwarts has done that since Fabian and Gideon Prewett," Marlene pointed out.

"Let's do it!"

* * *

After the girls ran up to their dorm to get a trunk full of "supplies". Lily insisted they each take a sobriety potion (_"So that we won't die"_). Unfortunately, the closest thing they had was Harley's headache tonic, but they made do and split half of it eight ways. With slightly clearer heads, the eight of them used the Marauder's Map to get out of the castle and down to the lake. They walked around the perimeter to reach the dock, which was fairly far away from the castle, and hoped no one could hear them. They set up the trunk and remaining Firewhiskey bottles on the dock, and quickly agreed that Zoe and Peter would be the emcees for the evening.

"Welcome! Come one, come all, to the twenty-third somewhat-annual Mr. Teen Hogwarts Beauty Pageant!" Peter said loudly. The rest of them cheered, clapping their hands above their heads.

"Tonight," Zoe said, "we will see the dashingness that is James Potter…"

James bowed low while Marlene, Harley, and Lily cheered. He caught Lily's eye on his way up and winked, and she blushed in response.

"…Remus Lupin…"

Remus bashfully grinned, his cheeks red mostly from the amount of alcohol he'd ingested earlier, but he waved to the girls.

"…and Sirius Black!"

Sirius raised both arms and waved, blowing kisses to the nonexistent crowd in front of him.

"The theme of this year's competition is "evening wear," Peter informed them.

"Marlene, you will be Remus's stylist. Harley, you Sirius', and Lily, James,'" Zoe added, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"All outfits can be found in Zoe's Theater Costume Trunk," Peter said. "You have five minutes to dress your contestant, and then be ready for the catwalk… Begin!"

Lily, Marlene, and Harley - giggling like mad - ran to the trunk and popped it open, quickly grabbing handfuls of the first things they saw.

Lily sprinted back to James and dropped the pile of clothing at his feet. She inspected it for maybe ten seconds before looking back up to him.

"Take off your shirt."

"Blimey, Lily, we haven't even gone on our first date yet…"

"_James-we-have-four-minutes-just-do-it!_"

"And Lily Evans seems to be going 'the more skin, the better' route with her client… no! She adorns him with a bright purple boa, a fab choice," came Zoe's commentary.

"I don't know what Marlene McKinnon is doing, but it's risky. It looks like last season's skirt with this season's wizards hat, but with the right expertise she might be able to pull it off," Peter added without much knowledge of what he was talking about.

"With three minutes left on the clock, Harley Pensky is… taking off her jacket and giving it to Sirius Black. I swear to God, Har, if he rips my jacket-"

"Relax, it'll work!"

The last two minutes were spent in a frenzy as the stylists threw clothing at the models to put on before Peter finally called time.

"And now, would all three contestants line up on the catwalk? First Remus, then James, then Sirius. Begin!"

Peter and Zoe were practically falling over themselves laughing at the sight of the three boys, but they commented their every step down the dock and back.

"Remus Lupin," Zoe reported, "is the rookie for this evening, this being his first pageant, but his stylist definitely knows what she's doing. He's dressed tonight in a lovely pleated black skirt and pink sparkly top, showing off his impressive biceps. On his head is the latest in wizarding headgear, a lovely blue hat with large silver stars adorning it. Plus, large star-shaped sunglasses with the lenses popped out. Fabulous. And Remus Lupin makes his way back, a confident strut. Fabulous," Zoe repeated and giggled into her hand.

"Next up is James Potter," Peter took over, "and Lily Evans has really outdone herself on this veteran to beauty pageants. Shirtless with a purple boa, she's combined this with well-worn jeans rolled up to the knee and green leg warmers. Oh! And brilliant five-inch - whadya call those?"

"Wedges," Zoe supplied.

"With five inch wedges," Peter nodded. "Very nice, and oh - those look difficult to walk in - ouch, ah, well, it's all right James, we can fix twisted ankles."

"Finally, we have Sirius Black!" Zoe said as James kicked off his offensive footwear. "Strutting his stuff magnificently on the catwalk, tonight he's dressed in skinny checkered pants and clown shoes, a retro Hogwarts uniform shirt, unbuttoned, with his tie around his neck and a stylish blue jacket that he is carrying over his shoulder. Tonight his hair is styled into two pigtails high in his hair, definitely a first for these competitions."

Lily, Harley, and Marlene were on the ground laughing so hard that they almost missed all of Peter and Zoe's commentary.

"Would all three contestants line up on the edge of the dock?" Zoe asked, and the three boys did as asked.

For a few moments, Zoe and Peter put their heads together and discussed each model. A few times one would raise a voice over the other, but ultimately, they agreed.

"All right. We've decided," Peter announced. "Stylists, go stand behind your contestant. When we announce the winner, should he be yours, push him in the lake!"

"_What?_" Sirius demanded, his hair flipping comically in the pigtails as he whipped his head around.

"Relax, Sirius," Zoe said flippantly. "_You _have nothing to worry about."

Sirius stuck his tongue out, but looked relieved.

Lily, Harley, and Marlene lined up behind James, Sirius, and Remus.

"And…" Zoe paused dramatically.

"The winner…" Peter continued.

"_Is…"_

They locked eyes and smirked, then said in unison:

"_Sirius Black!_"

"_What?_"

Three splashes were heard as all three boys were pushed in. Harley, Lily, and Marlene looked at each other in surprise, then doubled over laughing, realizing that they all had had the same idea.

"What the hell?" James asked as he, Sirius, and Remus swam to the edge of the dock and pulled themselves out, spitting water out of their mouths, sopping wet, and shivering.

The five people still dry could do nothing but laugh.

The three 'contestants' looked at each other, ridiculous in their outfits and even worse when they were covered in lake water. Without speaking, they started running at Marlene, Lily, and Harley.

"What - _JAMES, GET OFF OF ME!_"

"Sorry, Lily, but you betray me, I betray you!"

With three shouts of revenge, the contestants picked up their stylists and threw them into the water.

* * *

**The Day After, Lunch**

"I hosted a beauty pageant?" Zoe's brow furrowed in confusion as Sirius waved the medal for all of them to see while they ate their lunch.

"Apparently," he said. Then he added excitedly, "And I won!"

"Congratulations," Harley said drily.

"And that's the reason why my hair smelled like the lake this morning?" Marlene asked.

"Sorry," Remus winced. "I think I threw you in."

"It's all right. From what Peter said I pushed you."

"We've almost figured everything else about last night," Lily said, inspecting her parchment. She had started writing down everything that they remembered doing. "We still don't know why I gave us detention, or how we all ended up…" there was a pregnant pause, "where we did this morning."

The awkward silence lasted only a few seconds before James spoke up. "Also, Sirius can't find his wand."

"It's not anywhere in Gryffindor Tower," Sirius supplied, looking slightly worried over the loss of his wand.

Lily added it to the list of things they still needed to remember.

"Maybe we should go up to the Common Room and look for clues?" she suggested to them.

"Sure, Nancy Drew," Harley said, rolling her eyes.

"Who?" Sirius asked.

"She's a Muggle character. She has her own book series."

"Hm… is she fit?"

"It's not your birthday anymore. I can hit you and not feel bad about it."

"Ah, but you won't," Sirius predicted, giving the brunette a winning smile.

The smile was useless and he was proven wrong.

"You know, that wasn't very nice," Sirius said as they stood up to go to the Common Room. He rubbed his forehead where Harley had hit him with the heel of her palm.

"You should have expected it, Sirius," Lily said, stepping between them and linking both of their arms in hers, diffusing the tension as Harley opened her mouth to retort. "You know not to challenge Harley - Maggie? What are you doing here?"

The eight Seventh Years were just stepping into the Entrance Hall when they saw the approaching brunette. Maggie looked flustered and a bit, well, annoyed.

"You lot have had me worried out of my mind, you know that?" she said, marching right up to Sirius. Her Irish accent intensified as her anger did, and it rendered her almost incomprehensible. "Put you all to bed like the nice little nanny I am and wake this morning to find you've all run off without another word – and Sirius here wandless! No one thinks of poor Maggie, she's just Maggie the Waitress, as forgettable as whatever they're trying to drink away!"

Sirius put his hands up defensively as he was the one Maggie was addressing directly, pointing his own wand under his chin. James and Peter chortled behind him, amused at the sight of barely-five-foot-Maggie threatening Sirius. Maggie was the niece of Madam Rosmerta, and worked in the Three Broomsticks as a waitress. She was only a few years older than the Seventh Years, and she normally got along with them swimmingly. This was not one of those times.

"Mags, none of us really remember what happened last night," Harley said, in an attempt to calm her down. Harley and Maggie normally got along the best, as they had similar tempers.

"Oh, I'll tell you happened," Maggie grumbled. "You lot wake up me nigh four in the morning with your banging on and your yelling about some bloody pageant-"

"Oh, we remember the pageant!" Sirius said triumphantly.

Maggie went on as though she hadn't heard him. "And all of you are pissed off your arses and who's there to take care of you?" The Seventh Years looked sufficiently guilty and stared at their feet, silent. "That's right, me! So I coddle you all and summon you up some nice blankets and make up your beds like I'm your mum only to find out you split before I get a proper explanation for you behaviour. Now what do you lot have to say for yourselves?"

Lily tried not to feel like she was actually being chastised by her own mum, but a chewing out from Maggie was not much different.

"We're sorry, Maggie," Remus finally said quietly. The rest of them quickly followed suit, giving their own apologies, ranging from Remus' own muttered sentiment to Sirius actually embracing the girl and kissing her on the cheek in his gratitude.

That finally made Maggie smile and she shoved Sirius away. "Oh, you know I can never stay cross with you, Black."

"We will shower you with tips from now on," Marlene promised.

"I don't want to see you anywhere near a bar again, you almost killed yourself."

"Me?" Marlene asked, shocked.

"Oh yes," the waitress replied. "You really don't remember?"

"Not a thing," James replied.

"Well, you two disappeared after a few minutes," Maggie said, nodding to Lily and James.

They exchanged glances, and both had a moment of understanding. This must have been how they ended up in the castle, and the others in the bar.

"Mags," Harley said, catching on to the significant role the bartender would play in this mystery, "could you tell us exactly what happened?"

* * *

**AN: Ngl, I love Maggie even though you guys don't even know who she is. **

**Let's play a game: _Who is Maggie? _I'll give you three hints:**

**1. The answer is not anything that you could have gotten from this story alone. 2. She's related to a character of mine.  
3. You would have had to have read "Lily's the Man" to be familiar with this character.  
**

**Go and guess for me in a review telling me what you think of this story! (; And if anyone guesses right please know that this wasn't some connection I pulled out of my ass, this has been a thing for more than three years, easily. I just never found a way to incorporate her before now. Also if you guess right I'll explain the connection more because it really _does_ look like I just pulled it out of my ass. **

**Anyways, I'm done shamelessly plugging my own story. **

**LAST UPDATE TOMORROW OH MY GOD ARE YOU EXCITED I AM BECAUSE I'VE JUST TURNED INTO A TWELVE YEAR OLD DISCOVERING THE INTERNET FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT ISN'T DISNEYCHANNEL DOT COM AND FORGOT HOW TO TURN THE CAPS LOCK OFF!ONE!**

**See you all tomorrow! ^_^**

**PS: Nothing on this earth would make me happier than someone drawing Remus, James, and Sirius in their pageant outfits, soo... if anyone likes to draw? ;D**


	7. Chapter Six

**The Party, 3:14**

Five different splashes followed those of Lily's, Marlene's, and Harley's as the rest of the group, laughing, jumped into the lake as well.

"It's cold in here!" came Zoe's shocked voice.

"It's the middle of November," Remus pointed out.

"We sh-sh-should get ou-out," Lily suggested.

There was a mass exodus from the lake as all eight of them - slipping, shivering, and laughing - climbed out of the lake and back onto the dock.

"Ugh, I'm so wet," Harley said with disgust, wringing her long hair out into the grass.

"Blimey," Sirius said. "Didn't know it was that easy with you, Pensky."

"Bite me, Black."

"Do you dare me?"

"I do!" Marlene exclaimed.

"Save it for later," James said, grabbing onto Sirius's collar.

"I think James wants Sirius to bite him," Marlene said slyly, giggling behind her hand and wobbling slightly on the spot. "Sirius, I dare you to bite James."

"Would you rather have James, or James _Bond_?" Lily asked them without warning.

"Which one?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

"Connery."

"Bond," came his immediate answer.

The group considered this, and then they all nodded.

"Bond. Definitely."

"Sorry, James," Peter said.

James shrugged. "It's all right," he assured him. "I'd go for Bond, too."

"You should be him next Halloween," Lily suggested.

"Only if you're a Bond girl," he said, winking flirtatiously.

Lily smiled and looked away. The Firewhiskey was making her cheeks turn red. Yep. The Firewhiskey.

"Look at the stars!" Remus exclaimed suddenly, his head tilted back to see the sky. All seven heads immediately went north.

"Wow," Zoe said softly.

The eight of them lay down on the grass in a circle, their heads in the middle and just looked up.

With no electricity inside of Hogwarts, there was little light to obscure the night sky. It was free of clouds and thick with stars, and Lily felt as if she was seeing the entire universe folded out for her visual pleasure.

Marlene, on her left, grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight. Lily saw that she'd also taken Remus'. To Lily's right, she grabbed James's hand.

His eyes snapped to her questioningly, but she just grinned and looked back up to the sky. In her peripheral vision, she saw James's soft smile.

"Happy birthday, Sirius," Marlene said, and Lily felt a rush a warmth for their little group. Ditzy and intoxicated though they were, she was overall very happy.

Sirius laughed. "Happy indeed. Although, credit where credit is due, it would not be this good without the permission of the Head Girl."

"It's impossible for birthdays to be happy if there's no alcohol present?" Lily asked.

"Well," Sirius said, "I suppose not. But they're certainly _better_."

"You're going to be a crusty, old drunk, Sirius Black," Harley predicted.

"I shall wear the title with honor." He confirmed such a statement by getting up and passing out the remaining bottles of Firewhiskey.

"You're welcome, I suppose," Lily said, as they all sat up and took a bottle.

They were silent for a few more minutes, until Sirius spoke up.

"I bet I could finish my bottle before any of you."

Which was how, two minutes later, they were all giggling uncontrollably on the ground, red in the face and set off by the littlest things.

"And - and then the _beagle," _James tried to explain to the girls, "it - it - Padfoot-" and then he started laughing again, clutching his stomach, as did everyone else. Zoe was literally rolling on the ground, while Peter attempted and failed to stand, crashing on top of her. This just caused more laughter.

"I - I can't - my stomach hurts," Marlene slurred through her laughter. "But I'm out of Firewhiskey!"

"Me too," Harley said, proving it by throwing her bottle on the ground, where it hit a rock and broke on impact.

The group laughed while Harley mourned the loss of her bottle. Lily took out her waved and waved it once. The shards from the bottle flew together, but her intoxication made her charm work sloppy and one of the pieces caught her arm and gave her a little nick.

"We need to celebrate properly!" Sirius announced. "Who's up for the Three Broomsticks?"

"It's three in the morning," Remus protested.

"The best time for shenanigans!" Sirius exclaimed.

With many hurrah's and little arguments, the group stumbled their way across the grounds of Hogwarts before finally reaching the front gates, admittedly exhausted from lack of sleep and such a long walk. Neither, however, could keep them from reaching their destination.

"Maggie!" Sirius yelled, pounding on the front door of The Three Broomsticks, ignoring the shushes from the rest of the group.

"Blimey, Sirius, it's a _bar_!" Lily said, reaching past him and opening the unlocked door. "I don't think they close."

It might have well have, as no one was in except Maggie, who had obviously just been awoken from a deep sleep.

"What's going on?" she asked blearily, sitting on one of the bar stools. Her curly brown hair was plastered to the side of her face and her normally kind face was scrunched in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"We're here to celebrate!" Sirius said in a tone far too loud. The walk over had caused the group to grow tired, but not Sirius. "I'm eighteen today, Maggie!"

"Yesterday," Remus corrected.

"Congratulations," she answered, rubbing her eyes. "I still don't see what that's got to do with me."

"We require alcohol."

"Not at this hour."

"But-"

"No buts!" The brunette exclaimed, getting off her stool and stretching. "I'm cutting you off, you're all pissed."

"Aw, but Mags-"

"No buts!" she repeated. "Look at poor Peter, he's asleep on his feet."

Sirius turned and indeed saw that Peter was swaying slightly on the spot, eyes half closed.

"Why don't I just get you all some water?"

"That sounds good," Harley slurred, sitting down in the expansive corner booth. Suddenly, she was very thirsty.

The rest followed suit, realizing their thirst.

"Blimey you'll have to tell me the whole story," Maggie said, returning from behind the corner with a tray covered in mugs full of water.

"It's a great story," Zoe giggled, hiccupping.

"Clearly."

"Lils?" James suddenly reached for Lily's arm as she approached the table. "You're bleeding!"

"Oh," Lily looked down at her arm, "I just got scratched from Harley's bottle earlier, nothing to worry about."

"That's not a scratch," James said, pushing up her blood soaked sleeve. Underneath, her arm was covered in more blood. "How did you not notice this?"

"I don't know," Lily said, starting to feel hazy.

James grabbed a bar cloth and pressed it to her arm, using it as a makeshift bandage. "We should take you to someone – unless you know any healing charms?"

"I'd probably take off my own arm instead of fixing it in this state," Lily pointed out, poking James in the chest.

Impatient, James took her wrist in his and started leading her out of the bar. "We'll be back," he told the room, but everyone was preoccupied in retelling the night's events to Maggie.

James led Lily to Honeydukes, instructing her to keep pressure on her arm. They snuck into the cellar and through the secret passageway to the castle, James feeling like he had a toddler in tow.

"You lot have so many secrets," Lily said, tugging on his sleeve with her free hand. "How long have you known about this passage?"

"We found it in second year," James answered.

"That's how you got into Hogsmeade before third year!" Lily realized.

James couldn't help the guilty smile that lit up his face. It wasn't, but James decided not to tell Lily that.

"You were the Marauders before you were the Marauders," Lily slurred. "Say, how come you're so clear headed? Hardly seems fair, you drank more than me."

"I, however, can hold my liquor far better than ninety pound girls who barely even take sips of wine at formal parties," James pointed out.

"I am far heavier than ninety pounds," Lily said.

"'Don't look it."

"Well, thank you. Unless you are insinuating that I look unhealthily skinny, than I kindly request that you go sod off-"

"Christ, Lily, I should get you drunk every day," James said through his laughter.

"Well, if I'm only amusing when pissed, I dunno why you keep me around at all," Lily said.

"Oh, Lils," James sighed. "I would always keep you around. You're the most attractive and amusing bird I know."

"Oh," she blushed. "Likewise. Boy though, not a bird."

"Yeah?" James glanced at her, then quickly looked ahead before his own flush gave away his feelings.

"Yeah." Lily, however, did not have so much self-control in that moment and studied him for a few seconds. In her life, Lily felt like it always came back to him, back to James. "In fact-"

"I think we should go to Bailey," James said quickly. He was scared of where this conversation was going. Of course, it was heading straight towards his wildest dreams, but he didn't want it to happen like this, both of them drunk and on their way to seek medical attention. "You know how she is."

Bailey had earned herself a reputation of being a sort of underground healer. Hangover? She had a stock of the cure in her trunk. Cramps? She had pain medication by the bottle and chocolate by the pound. Cut your arm during a wild, drunken night that would definitely land you in detention? She could patch you up without raising the suspicion of anyone.

"Oh," was all Lily said.

James wanted to punch himself. She had been about to say something! _Fucking hell, Potter, pull yourself together!_

They soon reached the end of the tunnel and he helped her up the passage into the corridor.

"We were supposed to be on duty tonight, weren't we?" Lily whispered to him. James only nodded, gesturing for her to be quiet.

Silently, they had an uneventful journey up to the Gryffindor Common Room. They whispered the password to a very crabby Fat Lady, but finally made it to the safety the Common Room provided. Thankfully, it was deserted and only the party decorations remained.

"I think it's stopped bleeding," Lily whispered, removing the rag from her arm, which now had a lovely dark red stain. Maggie would probably chew them out for that, but for now James was worried about finding Bailey.

Lily ran quietly up the stairs, and James could just barely hear the knock on the door.

Fortunately, Bailey was the one who answered. "Lily?"

"I cut my arm," Lily said, lamely holding it out for evidence.

Bailey rolled her eyes. This was not the first time she'd been awoken in the middle of the night. She was surprised, however, by the strong smell of alcohol coming off of Lily.

"Go back downstairs, I'll bring some stuff. I don't want to wake anyone up."

Lily complied, carefully walking back down the stairs and to James. "She's coming."

And soon Bailey did, carrying a bottle of liquid, a soaked rag, and her wand.

"Drink some of this. Both of you," she added, after seeing James's bloodshot eyes.

"What is it?" he asked suspiciously.

"Something to sober you two up. Honestly," she clucked as she inspected Lily's arm. "This isn't that bad. It's not even that deep." She pressed the rag to the cut and Lily hissed, jerking her arm away.

"The bloody hell is that soaked in? Acid?"

"Peroxide," Bailey said in a sing-song voice. "You don't want an infection, do you?"

"Can't you just – I don't know – magic me?" Lily asked.

Bailey rolled her eyes. "I just know how to stitch you up, not clean you."

"I should give you detention."

"I think you're the one who's more deserving of that detention, love," Bailey pointed out. "But I'm just assuming your night was full of illicit activities."

"Oh it was," James said before downing half of the bottle's contents and shuddering at the taste. Immediately, however, he felt his head clear. It appeared he'd been a bit more intoxicated than previously thought.

"Hmm," Lily said, stilly hazy from alcohol. "You're right. James, we both have detention. In fact, we _all_ have detention. You, me, Sirius, Harley, Zoe, Remus, Marlene, and Peter." She rattled off the names, counting off her fingers. "For being up at two in the morning."

James rolled his eyes. "You sure you aren't going to regret that order in the morning?"

"I'm Head Girl," Lily argued. "I have to practice a 'sense of civic responsibility.'" James cracked a smile as she quoted a phrase McGonagall had written in their Head Girl and Boy letters. Trust Lily to remember something like that, even drunk.

Bailey finished with the rag and waved her wand over Lily's now clean arm. She was right, the cut wasn't deep at all, but since she cut it on the glass shards, it had gone unattended and just kept bleeding until James had noticed in The Three Broomsticks.

"Thank you," Lily breathed in relief. She took the bottle from James and finished off the contents and handed the empty vial to Bailey, who stowed it in her pocket.

"Now, I know you will ignore this, but try not to do anything too stupid for the rest of the night," Bailey told them. Lily laughed, and felt the potion take effect. A small headache started to settle behind her eyes, and she suddenly felt very, very tired.

"Good night," Bailey said, turning around and making her way up to her dormitory.

"Thanks for your help, Bailey," James said.

With a final wave, the Sixth Year disappeared.

"What do we do now?" James said, turning to Lily. "We could go back to The Three Broomsticks – you all right?"

"No, I'm good," Lily said, swaying slightly. "I'm just – blimey, I'm so tired. I think I've been awake for twenty-four hours."

James checked his watch. "Nearly. It's just past five."

"Merlin," Lily muttered, rubbing her eyes. She collapsed into the sofa in front of the fireplace, and James quietly sat beside her. She snuggled into his chest and fell into a light doze.

Frozen in place, James felt as though any movement would disturb her. She looked peaceful, using him as a pillow. Slowly, he brought his hand to her hair and gently ran it through her long red locks.

It was a wonderful moment for both of them. Lily alternated between staring at the fire and dozing off, and James continued to run his hand through her hair.

"James?"

"Hmm."

"Did you mean what you said earlier?"

"Probably not. I was a lot drunker than I thought."

"So I'm not amusing and attractive?"

"Oh," It was James's turn to flush, and his cheeks turned a dark crimson, though Lily couldn't see it. "No, I meant that."

"Really?"

"Definitely."

"Thank you," Lily said. "That was very sweet."

"You of course," James said, "said the same to me. I'm only assuming you meant it was well."

"Of course I did."

"Of course?"

"Yeah. You're James Potter."

A deep chuckle caused James' chest to vibrate, making Lily smile. "I'll be glad to tell every other James Potter in the world that our name guarantees us to be amusing and attractive."

Lily smiled softly. "You're wrong."

"But you just said – "

"It's not that your name is James Potter," Lily interrupted. "It's that you're you. You're… James. Funny, kind, clever… not bad on the eyes."

"Lily Evans, this is quite forward of you."

"I don't care," she answered, surprising James again for the hundredth time that night. Lily sat up and looked James in the eye, some sort of passionate glint in her emerald eyes. "I'm… tired. So bloody tired of not saying what I feel."

"What do you feel?" James asked quietly, feeling a strange sense of role reversal.

"Like… I want to scream," Lily tried to explain. "Less than twenty-four hours ago, I was dumped by my boyfriend. We'd been together for nine months. And I didn't even _care_."

"Oh, Lils," James said. "I think you cared-"

"No, I didn't," she interrupted again. "I was a little angry. But I think I was more angry at myself."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't realize sooner that I wasn't actually happy in that relationship. It was going nowhere, and you know why?"

"Why?" James asked again, a sense of anticipation in his stomach. He and Lily were very close. So, so close. And during this conversation, with her hair messy and the embers from the fire casting a slight orange glow on her face, Lily never looked more gorgeous to him. The way she was looking at him didn't hurt either.

"Because I think I was in love with someone else the whole time," Lily said, feeling like she was exposing her soul to James.

"The whole time?" James asked, moving ever closer, glancing down at her lips every few seconds.

"Well," she admitted, chewing her bottom lip softly, effectively driving James crazy. "Maybe not the whole time. But definitely a large chunk of it. At least since-"

James pressed his lips to hers, effectively cutting her off. They were both frozen, eyes wide and staring into each other's as though shocked by this turn of events. Soon however, James's hand reached up and cupped her chin, urging her to respond as he kissed her gently.

Lily's eyes fluttered closed, letting James pull her into his lap where she let her hands roam into his hair, nibbling softly on his bottom lip. Her entire body felt wired up and tense with excitement as James' lips glided over her own. They were chapped from the cold weather, but they were also warm and comforting. Lily moaned softly when James moved to kiss her jaw as her hands went lower to feel his chest and stomach. His lips were roaming her neck until she pulled him back up, kissing him forcefully and letting her tongue explore his mouth, with him happily reciprocating.

Their kissing increased in intensity as James slid his hands underneath the bottom of her dress, his callused hands running over her smooth thighs, sending little tingles of pleasure through Lily right down to her toes. She pressed closer to him, now straddling him and pressing her hips into his. James groaned, causing the vibration in his chest that Lily loved so.

Without warning, James wrapped his arms securely around Lily and stood up, carrying her towards the boy's dormitory staircase. Lily welcomed this, kissing his stubbly jaw and humming in agreement. Halfway up the staircase, James set her down and pressed her against a nearby wall, cupping her face in his hands.

"James – dormitory – comfier than wall," Lily said between kisses. James smiled and took her hand, and they ran up the rest of the way before joining back together once in the dormitory.

Feeling as though the ten seconds sprint up the stairs was far too long a time for her lips to be without James, Lily took the initiative and pressed him into the pillows of his own bed, kissing him all the while. James soon flipped them over, however, and Lily took this as a chance to lift his shirt over his head.

"Are you sure?" James asked.

She gave him an exasperated look in response, and he took this as affirmation.

Soon, they were both nearly naked – Lily clad only in her bra and panties, James in his boxers.

James' hand was on the small of Lily's arched back, pressing her into his chest as he ran kisses from her neck down to her collarbone. Her hands explored his muscular back, the skin smooth and warm. Lily lost ay sense of time that she may have had before, too consumed to pay attention to anything that wasn't James's lips, or the feel of his hair in her hands, or the way he kissed her neck.

It could have been two minutes, two hours, or two days - Lily wouldn't have known. All she knew was that James had his arms wrapped around her waist, and her forehead was pressed to his chest as they both tried to keep their eyes open.

"James?" Lily muttered sleepily.

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"You've been a really good friend."

"Merlin Lily, you strip a man down to his knickers and _then_ you tell him you just want to be friends?"

Lily laughed, snuggling closer into him. "That's not what I'm saying. And I definitely want to be much more than friends with you, James Potter."

"Likewise." Lily could practically hear the broad grin that James was no doubt currently wearing.

"I just meant... thanks for everything tonight. And I had a lovely time dancing."

"I'd have a lovely time with you in any setting, Lily Evans," James said sincerely.

And Lily knew that he meant it.

* * *

**The Day After, After Lunch**

Lily didn't know quite what to do with herself.

After Maggie told them what had happened until Lily and James' disappearance and the waitress' own orders that the remaining drunkards sleep in the bar, her memory slowly restored itself.

What an evening.

She was currently holed up in her dormitory, using the time to think about what happened. James had tried to stop her earlier, but she eluded him and escaped. Where did that night leave her and James, anyway? Did everything that happened still count? Neither of them was technically drunk when it happened.

She'd certainly _enjoyed_ it.

But Merlin, she'd nearly had sex with James Potter in the span of – oh – an hour.

She must've still been a little tipsy. But thinking of his body pressed up against hers left Lily more flustered than she'd have liked.

The bell rang. Lily had skipped all of Defense Against the Dark Arts to avoid James. And now, knowing exactly what had happened had almost made it worse. What if the entire night meant nothing to him? How did she know it even meant anything to her?

It was probably aftereffects of the Firewhiskey. Or maybe the potion Bailey gave them had a weird side effect.

Yes, that was it.

Hardly daring to miss Ancient Runes, Lily grabbed her bag and headed towards the classroom. The Marauders had Care of Magical Creatures that period, and there was no chance of running into them. She slipped into her seat beside Harley just as the late bell rang.

"Skipping classes, are we?" Harley asked immediately.

"I had a few things to think about," Lily replied.

"Do you remember the rest of the night?"

"Yeah."

"Anything good?"

"Depends on your definition."

Harley's reply was cut off when Professor Babbling shot the two girls warning looks for their talking. The pair stayed quiet for most of the lesson. Finally, they were given a few minutes of activity at the end of the lesson and Lily and Harley used this to discuss the night more.

"But, we've done it, haven't we?" Harley asked. "We've figured everything out. We remember everything. Everything can go back to normal."

"Hmm," Lily mused. "Yeah, I suppose it can."

Harley gave her a small smile and returned to their assignment. Soon however, Liam approached them.

"Hey, Lily," he said with a neutral expression on his face. "Professor Connors accidentally handed me your homework. I came here to give it to you."

Lily simply stared at him for a few seconds before extending her hand and taking the parchment without a word. Liam said goodbye to both of them before crossing the room and going back to his friends, not bothered at all by the exchange.

And that's when Lily realized Liam didn't give a single damn about her anymore.

Or, well, maybe he gave a damn - she wasn't a mind reader - but in that moment, Lily felt like dirt underneath his feet. She always had, in a way. She had to be perfect for him. To be at her best whenever in his presence.

That was also when she realized that when she was with James, Lily felt she was at her best no matter what state she was in. With Liam, everything was mechanical. With James, it was passionate. With Liam, it was attraction. With James, it was love.

And it had taken her an insane party and inappropriate amounts of alcohol to realize this.

* * *

**AN: Ahh, what!? Epilogue next, last Author's Note with that one! :D**


	8. Epilogue

**Epilogue: Detention**

Lily, Harley, and Sirius were assigned to polishing the Trophy Room, while Zoe, Peter, James, and Marlene were in various Potions rooms, cleaning up spills and messes. Remus had gotten out of the night's fun, however, due to his prescheduled visit to his mum.

"So, was it all worth it?" Harley asked Sirius as they sat next to each other, rags in hand and polishing various trophies.

"What, the party? Definitely."

"But we're in detention," Lily argued, crossing the room to join them.

"That's your fault, Head Girl," Sirius reminded her, tossing her a rag.

Lily deftly caught it and took a shield-shaped award from the cabinet and set to work. "Even after the day we had, you can say it was a great party?"

"I like to think that it's because of the day we had that I think it's a great party," Sirius said mildly.

"You spent the whole day with a hangover and stinking like the lake," Harley pointed out.

"Yeah, but think of how our misadventures brought us closer together!" Sirius said happily.

"Oh yes, I feel so close to you right now," Harley rolled her eyes.

Sirius smacked her in the face with his rag.

"Rude," she said, taking out her wand and removing the glob of polish from her nose.

"I thought it was a good look for you."

"Bite me."

"Not the time," Lily said.

Sirius laughed and Harley smiled.

"So, Lily, what's going on with you and Prongs?" Sirius asked conversationally.

Lily flushed. "Nothing."

"Nothing? According to him, last night wasn't nothing."

"What are you, a gossiping old lady?" Lily accused, defensive.

"Just looking out for my best mate," Sirius shrugged. "It's not every day James gets his heart broken."

"James did not get his heart broken," Lily said bitterly. "He was more than happy to forget it ever happened."

"You were the one who suggested it," Harley reminded her.

"Besides, what was he supposed to say?" Sirius asked. "'No, don't go, I love you!' James is more in touch with his feminine side than most blokes, but even he wouldn't do that."

Lily looked up curiously. "He doesn't love me."

"Evans, I have been James' best mate for six years now. I can assure you, he's been on the verge of 'in love' since we first saw you on the train the very first day of Hogwarts."

Lily was stunned. "Really?"

"I know right? He needs a hobby-"

"No, Sirius, focus," Lily said, grabbing his arm and forcing him to look at her. "You're telling me that if I – I don't know – go up to James right now and admit some feelings I've very recently discovered, he wouldn't be disgusted and never talk to me again?"

Sirius quirked an eyebrow curiously and grinned. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

…

"I have to go."

Sirius laughed and Harley beamed as Lily got to her feet, throwing her rag down on the ground.

"I'd be quick, love," Sirius called as she ran out of the room. "Prongs, Wormtail, and I have somewhere to be soon!"

Taking his statement to heart, Lily increased her speed to a sprint and headed for the Potions rooms. She found Marlene in one.

"Where's James?" Lily demanded.

Marlene, alarmed, answered, "room number three. Why? Lily!" But the redhead was already running towards the room in question.

Throwing all sense of decency away, Lily burst into the room and called, "James!"

"Lily?" He said, not fifteen feet away from her. He was sitting on one of the desks, cleaning away years' worth of doodles from the table.

"James – I'm so sorry," Lily panted, the after effects of her running finally getting to her. Alarmed, he closed the distance between them but didn't touch her.

She rested her hands on her knees and tried again. "I've been awful to you all day, I'm so sorry! I was wrong, James, I was wrong, last night meant everything to me and it's taken me this long to realize it and oh, I know you may not feel the same way, but I need to say it, I do. I fancy you, James Potter," she said grandly, standing upright and taking a step closer to him, "and I think I may even love you if you can believe it because I think I'm starting to."

She paused for breath and fell silent from the look on James's face. It was a mix of confusion, humor, and awe.

"Well, don't just stand there!" Lily insisted nervously. "Say something!'

Instead, he beamed and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, pressing his body into hers, pouring all of the emotions he couldn't express in words into the kiss.

After a few moments, Lily broke away with a shy smile. "Ditto?"

James felt as if his face was about to split in half from the broadness of his grin. "Definitely."

* * *

**AN: It's over! Ahh! **

**It's been a week of awesome guys, I honestly have no idea how I could have gotten through it without looking forward to reading your reviews and talking to you guys because honestly you're all the best. Hugs, man, hugs all around. **

**I haven't responded to everyone from chapter five, I wanted to finish the story as soon as I got home! But I'm about to go through those ^_^  
**

**Thanks again to everyone who read, liked, Favorited, reviewed, and went along with all of the drunken shenanigans with me (: **


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